New from Cambridge University Press!

Edited By Keith Allan and Kasia M. Jaszczolt

This book "fills the unquestionable need for a comprehensive and up-to-date handbook on the fast-developing field of pragmatics" and "includes contributions from many of the principal figures in a wide variety of fields of pragmatic research as well as some up-and-coming pragmatists."

This collection of papers addresses contemporary issues in foreign and secondlanguage education with a focus on learner autonomy, in honour of one of theleading proponents of the theory and practice of autonomy in language learning,David Little. The volume contains contributions by his colleagues, peers andstudents, in a range of areas which owe much to his thinking, research, practiceand influence.

SUMMARY

The foreword by Leo van Lier, ''Agency, Self and Identity in Language Learning,''discusses the lack of universally accepted definitions of these three terms, andhighlights the need to forge connections between the intricate relationships ofcognitive, affective and social influences of language learning in order ''toexplore both convergences and divergences without prejudice'' (p. xvi). This callfor unity in diversity reflects David Little's own research agenda.

The introduction by the editors, Lorna Carson and Breffni O'Rourke, ''Languageand Learners, Interdependence and Autonomy'' reviews David Little's background,career at Trinity College Dublin, research themes, achievements, and ongoinginfluence in several dimensions of the field, as reflected in the remainder ofthe collection.

Part one of the festschrift focuses on the area in which David Little may bebest known: language learner autonomy. Viljo Kohonen's paper, ''Autonomy, Agencyand Community in FL Education: Developing Site-based Understanding through aUniversity and School Partnership'' describes collaborative learning against abackground of sociocultural theory and the Common European Framework ofReference for Languages (CEFR). The author addresses teacher development ascultural socialisation and as a cognitive process, then describes the ''OKproject'' where teachers were involved in action research, developing the conceptand practice of participatory professional learning. This approach explores theconnection between teacher autonomy and learner autonomy in a collaborativeenvironment, which is often undervalued and underutilised where commercial andtime restraints limit the possibility of connecting research with practice inthe classroom.

Lienhard Legenhausen's article, ''Group Work, Weak Learners and the AutonomousClassroom: Indirect Support for the Interaction Hypothesis?'' uses conversationanalysis of a short extract of dialogue between two young weak learners to showhow the eventual negotiation of meaning is achieved. He argues that this givesindirect evidence for the interaction hypothesis, an area where supporting datais more often drawn from more competent language users. He then concludes thatclassroom interactions characterised by authenticity and reflexivity -- both keyfeatures of autonomy espoused by Little -- can contribute to communicativecompetence even in weaker learners.

Ema Ushioda's contribution, ''Researching Growth in Autonomy through I-StatementAnalysis,'' addresses the lack of specific tools of inquiry or analysis that havewidespread acceptance in autonomy research. She describes the development ofsystematic means of exploring learner reflective writing, through analysis ofI-statements, thus giving researchers a potentially useful tool for qualitativeanalysis in order to examine specific cognitions and patterns in learner output.

Naoko Aoki and a group of Osaka University students contribute ''A Community ofPractice as a Space for Collaborative Student Teacher Autonomy,'' which describesarrangements for teaching practice for trainee teachers of Japanese as a secondlanguage, including engaging with learners of Japanese in various contexts,goal-setting for teacher development and group projects to achieve these goals. The researcher's objective was to develop and sustain a community of practicewhere participants belong to several different sub-groups, and she uses theresulting qualitative data to demonstrate the development of collaborativestudent teacher autonomy.

In ''Developing Learner Autonomy with Adult Immigrants: A Case Study,'' Leni Damdescribes a program for adult immigrants learning Danish as their secondlanguage, and the teachers' attempts to help learners develop autonomy. Sheidentifies innovations in the classroom which shifted the locus to learners(e.g. the physical organisation of classroom, time with teacher, specificindependent tasks), and reports on the positive feedback from learners whoultimately demonstrated characteristics of autonomous learners.

Dieter Wolff's ''Developing Curricula for CLIL: Issues and Problems'' addressesthe area of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) which has becomecommon in education systems in Europe. The focus here is on why and howcurricula should be developed, with a description of typical features of a goodcurriculum. He argues that developing curricula is not just about developingclosed lists of learning aims, learning content and methodological approachesbut rather illustrating different approaches to learning with respect to theseaims, content and methods, thus creating a positive environment for thedevelopment of autonomy among learners.

Bernd Rüschoff's contribution, ''Authenticity in Language Learning Revisited:Materials, Processes, Aims'' begins with a very personal introduction, then usesquotes from novel about teaching to discuss the importance of authenticity inthe language classroom -- going beyond the simple use of authentic materials butidentifying authenticity of text and of task as being key to a person-centredpedagogy.

Bernd Voss's ''Language Teaching in Higher Education and the TCD LanguageModules'' gives a history of language teaching in higher education using Germanyas a case study, pointing out that the education of modern language teachers wasbased on that of classical language teachers, i.e. focusing on grammar andtranslation. He then identifies five characteristics of university languageteaching, and reviews the language modules developed at Trinity College Dublinunder the oversight of David Little, which are seen as models and examples ofgood practice in language teaching and learning.

Lorna Carson's ''Innovation and Autonomy in an Institution-Wide LanguageProgramme'' thematically follows the previous paper in describing Trinity CollegeDublin's language programs for non-language majors, based on the CEFR. Hereagain is an excellent model of autonomous learning in an institutional context,highlighting the importance of self-assessment.

Part Two of the festschrift is focused on 'Second and Minority LanguageEducation,' with seven papers giving examples of specific situations and howgovernments, communities or agencies have addressed the needs of users ofnon-majority languages in the European context.

In ''The Language Educational Experience of Polish Migrants in France andIreland,'' Ewelina Debaene and David Singleton describe the experience of thePolish diaspora in two European situations and the difficulties of supportingthe home language and culture of children of Polish migrants. The Polishgovernment, the church and Polish cultural organisations have carried much ofthe weight in the absence of support from local or national agencies in thecountry, which is probably not a unique example for other immigrant groupsacross Europe.

Lorraine Leeson's ''Supporting Academic Success for the Irish Deaf Community''describes the history of deaf education in Ireland and the breakthroughs made bythe establishment (with the oversight and support of David Little) of the Centrefor Deaf Studies at Trinity College Dublin, including the increase in status ofIrish Sign Language and a ''cultural shift from inherited belief in thelimitations of Deaf people because of deafness to a 'can-do' attitude'' (p. 207).

John Harris's article, ''Attitude Motivation in the Early Learning of ForeignLanguages and Minority Second Languages,'' addresses the lack of research intoearly language learning in various sociolinguistic contexts such as secondlanguage minority, regional, heritage or majority language learning byimmigrants. He compares the attitudes of primary school pupils learning Europeanforeign languages and learning a minority second language (Irish), using anadaptation of the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (AMTB). While discussing bothsimilarities and differences in the findings, the author argues for thedecompartmentalisation of the study of foreign languages, minority secondlanguages, regional languages and immigrant languages.

In ''Change and Challenge in the Teaching of Irish,'' Muiris Ó Laoire addressesthe issue of why students appear to be unable to hold a simple conversation inIrish after 13 years of instruction, reviewing the history of Irish languageteaching in schools and the influence of applied linguistic research, where onceagain the influence of David Little is apparent. The implementation ofcommunicative language teaching and a sociocultural approach to pedagogy haveled to an understanding that ''the language is not fully teachable within theclassroom context'' (p. 246) and that the classroom should be a site ofempowerment for language use outside the classroom. This understanding couldeasily apply to many approaches to language education where there is littleexpectation of language use anywhere outside the classroom.

Pádraig Ó Riagáin provides ''Implementing International Standards for MinorityLanguage Policy: The Framework Convention for the Protection of NationalMinorities and Moldova between 2000 and 2005'' as an examination of how the issueof minority rights has been addressed in the Council of Europe, using theRepublic of Moldova as a case study. Historically, the 'russificiation' ofSoviet Moldova challenged the status of the Moldovan language, but since 1989the local language has been strengthened through a range of educationalpolicies. The implementation of a Europe-wide policy has been affected bypolitical factors and lack of data, and this article shows that the interactionbetween the political agencies of a community of states and a world oftransnational politics are often in competition or conflict.

Waldemar Martyniuk's ''Assessing Competences at the End of Compulsory Schooling:The Polish Case'' illustrates the challenge of assessing competence in a languagetaught as a school subject and a language taught across the curriculum. Itincludes an overview of education in Poland and how assessment is doneinternally and externally, with a detailed analysis of Polish language atlower-secondary level. The conclusions drawn may apply more broadly to theassessment of language and competence standards in many educational contexts.

Androula Yiakoumetti and Edith Esch's article, ''Educational Complexitiesinherent in Bidialectal Communities and the Potential Contribution of the CommonEuropean Framework of Reference to Second-dialect Development,'' explores themultifaceted phenomenon of bidialectalism, with a focus on the educationalimplications of such a heterogeneous issue. The authors argue that while theCEFR is primarily concerned with second-language learning, it could be modifiedto include bidialectal learners. Issues of culture, language attitudes,assessment, the importance of teacher training and authentic materials are allclearly addressed in such a way that makes it seem possible to implement abidialectal program with careful consideration of these and other crucial factors.

The third part of the volume, ''Implementing the Common European Framework ofReference for Languages and the European Language Portfolio,'' includes fivepapers exploring different implementations of this important policy.

Joseph Sheils' article, ''Council of Europe Policy for Plurilingual Education,''reviews the issue of plurilingualism and its value in the Council of Europe, asmanifested in its policies. The paper describes the CEFR and ELP and theirrelation to plurilingualism, concluding that the policy contributes to ''thedevelopment of plurilingual and intercultural education, founded on avalues-oriented approach that promotes respect for, and goodwill towards, theplurilingual repertoires and cultures of others'' (p. 325).

Rolf Schärer, in ''The European Language Portfolio: Goals, Boundaries andTimelines,'' describes the ELP as ''a tool for learners to develop intoresponsible, plurilingual and inter-culturally competent citizens'' (p. 327) andthis paper describes the move from piloting to implementation of the ELP,focusing on the expected and unexpected, desirable and undesirable effects ofthis process. While not giving specific examples or data, the author discussesthe goals and guidelines of the ELP and highlights the issues involved inturning a policy into active use.

Hanne Thomsen's ''This is My Portfolio: Telling the Story of My Learning'' followsthe previous paper nicely by giving an actual example of the dossier section ofthe ELP by a young Danish learner of English over three years. Without anyevaluation or critique, it gives a clear demonstration for teachers and learnershow the learning process can be made visible through its use.

In ''The Motivational Potential of the European Language Portfolio,'' ManolisSisamakis includes another overview of the ELP, focusing on its desired effectof fostering learner autonomy. The author then examines the ELP through theprism of nine contemporary motivation theories, before concluding thatself-determination theory offers an appropriate framework for interpreting themotivational underpinnings of the ELP. Sisamakis states that the ELP fosters allthree of the basic or fundamental psychological needs posited byself-determination theory: competence, relatedness and autonomy. The author thenexpands on the issue of learner autonomy and the ELP, drawing on David Little'sown work.

The final paper in the collection is by Philip Riley, ''Reflections on Identity,Modernity and the European Language Portfolio.'' This paper takes a morephilosophical approach to the field, focusing on the idea of 'identity.' Henotes the convergence of thinking in psychology and applied linguistics towardssociocultural theory, which provides much of the rationale for both autonomy andthe ELP, and states that ''the learner in applied linguistics discourse is nolonger simply a personification of the language acquisition process, but aflesh-and-blood individual with an identity'' (p. 378). He describes his theoryof identity made up of Self, Person and Ethos, which map reasonably neatly on tothe ELP components of Biography, Passport and Dossier.

EVALUATION

This collection provides some solid contributions to the areas of interest toDavid Little, as reflected in the three parts of the book: language learnerautonomy, second and minority language education, and the CEFR and ELP. Myconcern is that there is a lack of cohesion between these three parts. The titleof the collection: ''Language learner autonomy: policy, curriculum, classroom''suggests that the focus of the book will be on learner autonomy and its variousmanifestations in these three areas; however the second part of the book islacking in reference to autonomy. While its focus is significant in terms oflanguage policy, an area where David Little has been influential, only the finalcontribution to this section (by Yiakoumetti and Esch) includes any reference tolanguage learner autonomy.

Normally in a collection of this nature, the foreword or introduction will givea justification of how the papers work together and the themes that emerge fromthe work as a whole. However, this book lacks a cohesive theme, except tocelebrate and extend the significant work of David Little and his contributionsto the three areas in focus here. While both the foreword (van Lier) and theintroduction (Carson and O'Rourke) spell out the work of Little and hisinfluence in the areas of applied linguistics, language policy and education,neither contribution offers any attempt to harmonise the different sections.

Each paper in the collection draws on the influential work of David Little, andthe book is a testimony to his influence and importance in different areas ofthe field of language learning and teaching. The first and last papers by vanLier and Riley nicely bookend the collection, addressing the key concepts ofautonomy in a wider perspective, which is then channelled and explored throughthe various case studies and descriptions of implementation and practicedescribed through the remainder of the book.

The volume offers useful food for thought for researchers in each of the threeareas in focus, with a wide variety of research types (historical overviews,policy reviews, implementation procedures, case studies, recommendations, etc.)presented well. The focus on Europe in these readings is not a disadvantage, asmany of the findings would be comparable in other contexts. The references andreviews of relevant literature are valuable for researchers who may be lessfamiliar with these areas. There is an appendix with a chronologicalbibliography of publications by David Little, and also a useful index to thecollection. Each of the articles makes a contribution to its field; however,besides David Little himself, it is hard to imagine who the intended reader isfor the whole collection.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

ABOUT THE REVIEWER:
Catherine Bow is a PhD candidate at Macquarie University, exploring issues
of language learner autonomy and independent learning in intensive cultural
immersion contexts. She has also worked in language description, language
development among children with hearing impairments, software tools for
language documentation, teaching ESL and TESOL.